Written by Sam Mackay
Every year World Sepsis Day falls on the 13th of September. It’s a global day of awareness to highlight and educate everyone about Sepsis.
Sepsis affects over 245,000 people in the UK alone every year, 48,000 of those will die of a sepsis related illness which equates to 5 deaths every hour in the UK. Worldwide the number of deaths is a total of 11,000000!
What is Sepsis?
Sepsis is when the immune system goes into overdrive to respond to an infection which can then lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death.
The UK Sepsis Trust are working tirelessly to improve awareness in both the public and healthcare professionals. They are also campaigning to the government to re-prioritise sepsis so it is treated with the same urgency as a stroke or heart attack.
What can we do to prevent sepsis? It’s unlikely that we can completely eradicate this horrific condition but there are things that we can do to drive down the risk (keeping vaccinations up to date) and learning the signs & symptoms and learning when to get help.
What are the signs of sepsis:
Adults
Slurred speech or confusion
Extreme shivering or muscle pain
Passing no urine (in a day)
Severe breathlessness
It feels like you’re going to die
Skin mottled or discoloured
Children can be more complicated than adults when unwell. They compensate well then can get poorly quickly. ALWAYS GO WITH YOUR GUT you know your child better than anyone and if something feels wrong get help.
There are extra signs to look out for in children:
⛑️Breathing very fast
⛑️Has a convulsion
⛑️Looks mottled or pale
⛑️Has a rash that does not fade when pressed
⛑️Very lethargic and difficult to wake
⛑️Feels abnormally cold to touch
Children under 5 may have sepsis if:
⛑️Are not feeding
⛑️Are vomiting repeatedly
⛑️Has not passed urine in 12 hours
If you think 'could it be sepsis' pick up the phone or seek help immediately. Remember when you call 999 or you are with any health care professional ask ‘Could it be Sepsis’.
Treatment for sepsis needs to be started within 1 hour of arrival at hospital.
My story with Sepsis
Being a first aid instructor for 17 years and a responder for the last 7 years has educated and taught me lots about Sepsis which I am incredibly grateful for. In 2022 my daughter had had the flu for 10 days she seemed to get better but then suddenly got worse.
It was just before Christmas and the last place we all wanted to be was the hospital but I just had this gut feeling that things were brewing. Within an hour of getting to the paediatric department we had confirmed by blood test that she was indeed at the start of Sepsis. For us we were incredibly lucky we had caught it early and once medications were started we began to see a response within a relatively short time. It took her body a good few weeks to completely recover but it could have been a very different story.
What signs did I spot - her breathing was faster than normal as was her heart. She was complaining of pain and had just looked so poorly. She had seemed to get better then went downhill and it set off a few alarm bells.
Remember go with your gut feeling. You know your child better than anyone. Just ask, could this be sepsis.
Sources : The UK Sepsis Trust, NHS sepsis
The UK Sepsis Trust
#WorldSepsisDay
